Compared to 83 at the same point last year. (August 2008 was a notoriously bad month for homicides.) So far, 41 percent of the homicides committed in 2009 have been solved. If you add in past homicides that have been solved in 2009, the closure rate rises to 58 percent.

From OPPD: Anyone interested in law enforcement, police work and police service is invited to attend the Overland Park Citizen Police Academy. An applicant must be at least 18 years of age, and have no criminal record. Applicants need not be residents or work in Overland Park, anyone may apply. This Academy should not be confused with the police academy for recruit officers.

The Academy will begin on Tuesday September 29 and end on Tuesday November 17, 2009 for a total of 8 weeks. The time of the Academy is from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM each Tuesday.
Applicant may apply through www.opkansas.org on the Citizens Academy page. There is no fee to attend this academy.

According to the U.S. Attorney for Western Missouri, the defendants -- one from Kingsville, one from Lawrence, one from Nevada -- have ties to the sovereign citizen movement. They allegedly sold the credentials by telling customers that owning one would prevent the police from arresting or stopping them. Also, they wouldn't have to pay taxes. (Doesn't say anything about granting the bearer to turn invisible or fly.) More after the jump!

From Christine Vendel: According to police ... The suspect (age 33) allegedly kicked
in the front door in the 7400 block of Walrond Avenue about 1:10 a.m.
(Sunday). During a struggle on the living room floor, the boyfriend was stabbed
once in the chest and cut on his back.

The estranged wife woke up
and saw the fight. The suspect allegedly chased her outside and tried
to force her and their children, ages seven to 11, into his vehicle.
The boyfriend emerged from the house with a shotgun and fired it once
in the air, scaring the suspect away.

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Kansas City police have arrested Anthony C. Washington, who is accused of cheating a senior citizen out of $4,000, Jackson County prosecutors report. Washington allegedly promised to help a 78-year-old man out of a reverse mortgage, only to bilk him and steal his checks. Officers with Kansas City's fugitive apprehension unit arrested Washington when he appeared for a bond-revocation hearing on Friday. His bond has been set at $150,000. (Here's a story I wrote about Washington last week.)

From Olathe PD: On August 29th at approximately 9:39 pm officers from the Olathe Police Department were dispatched to 1000 N. Ridgeview (Two Trails Park) in reference to a reported aggravated robbery. Upon arrival officers contacted several victims/witnesses who advised the following; earlier, two male subjects approached the victims at the park offering to sell them some electronic equipment. The victims declined at which point one of the male suspects displayed a handgun and subsequently took personal items belonging to the victims. Both suspects fled on foot.

NBC News has an interview with Phillip Garrido, the man accused of abducting Jaycee Dugard, keeping her captive for 18 years and fathering two kids with her. He says he left documents with the FBI in San Francisco, showing that he'd reformed himself. He calls it a "most powerful, heartwarming story."

He's going to be charged with first-degree murder. The police say the boy told them that he killed Dad because Dad disciplined them too much. The boy's 6-year-old sister reportedly saw the shooting happen. State officials had checked on the family more than seven times after getting reports of neglect and abuse, but there was never enough evidence to justify removing the kids.

A while back, Missouri legislators passed a law that would set up a statewide electronic database of people who bought cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine. That way, it would let police see if one person was buying more cold medicine than necessary and, thus, might be using it to make meth.

The only problem? The legislature didn't set aside any money to pay for it.

Authorities say the woman, who is from Fulton, was sick and tired of planes flying too close to her house. So, after telling folks in the terminal that she planned to shoot down the aircraft, she allegedly went onto the runway and fired a shot, forcing a plane to abort its landing, the AP reports.